David Letterman will be sent off in primetime CBS special

CBS is clearly making the exit of David Letterman from “The Late Show” into a special event next month, even if the usually-reclusive host does not exactly strike us as someone who even needs or wants all of the attention.

The network confirmed today that on Monday, May 4, they will present a special entitled “David Letterman: A Life on Television,” which is going to chronicle the more than three decades that he has spent in various places. It will start with his humble beginnings in Indiana working for a news station, and then eventually carry over to NBC (where he hosted “Late Night” for many years) before eventually moving to CBS and New York City as the host of “The Late Show.” The 90-minute special will be hosted by Ray Romano, which is a fitting choice in many ways. Some of Romano’s standup on “The Late Show” is one of the reasons why he eventually found success on the network with “Everybody Loves Raymond,” one of the most popular sitcoms of the past few decades.

Our hope is that this will include a wide array of big TV moments for Letterman, including the emotional (his first show after September 11 or after heart surgery, where he thanked all of his doctors) and the hilarious (his interview with Joaquin Phoenix during that whole “rap career” phase the actor was faking). What will be interesting to see is if the network addressed the whole extortion storyline where Letterman admitted to a relationship with a staffer, largely because that is the most controversial personal moment of his career at CBS.

Letterman’s show will come to a close on Wednesday, May 20. We have already reported that there are many guests who have signed on, but there are still offers out there to both Jay Leno and Brian Williams to appear at some point before it is over.

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